On Halloween, just before the First World War, a young woman's corpse was found with a makeshift shroud frozen to her battered face. Her ghost - the Faceless Woman - is said to walk through Ravenbank each Halloween. Just five years ago, Katya Moss was killed, her face also covered to hide her injuries. The seemingly related cases fascinate Daniel Kind, a specialist in the history of murder. Then, while he is attending a Halloween party in Ravenbank, a third murder occurs. Once again, the corpse's face is shrouded from view. This can't be a coincidence.

It all presents DCI Hannah Scarlett, head of the Cold Case Review Team, with the toughest challenge of her career. Hannah and Daniel team up professionally. But before they can solve this shocking puzzle, both of them must confront ghosts from their own past, as well as the ghosts of lonely, lovely, and mysterious Ravenbank.